Category Archives: gastronomy

london getaway 2016 | day 3

05 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, travel, trips

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london day 3 (1)One issue with my otherwise fabulous apartment in Wapping is that the WIFI is dodgy, to say the least, making it impossible to work. And although not ideal, Mark suggested I pop over to the nearby Yurt Café to take advantage of their WIFI. Turned out to be an unusual and interesting venue, a massive yurt with a small patio basically under the rail lines. So I was able to get some work done and it was a nice place to spend the morning.

Later on that evening came one of the week’s BIG EVENTS. Dinner at Som Saa…

london day 3

london day 3 (2)Mark @marcooth, John @cityjohn, Thane @thaneprince and “look no hands!” Bob

london day 3 (3)whole fried sea bass – spectacular presentation but didn’t quite deliver on taste

london day 3 (4)star dish of the evening – pork neck with “nahm jim” sauce

While the food was mostly good (though nothing spectacular other than that one pork dish imho) it was a terrible shame that a gathering of witty and wonderful people ended up in a shouting match across a rather narrow table because the FUCKING MUSIC WAS TURNED UP TO MAX. Seriously… why? It’s a small venue, and it’s a restaurant (with a small bar area as you come in). Ironically the bar is quieter than the restaurant. So what’s with the fucking ear-splitting music, unless it’s to make clients eat up and leave fast so they can turn more tables? Som Saa started off as a pop up and, after the owners went off to do research in Thailand, they opened this very new restaurant in Commercial Street. I’m told they didn’t actually change their pop-up menu much after their research and to me it all felt a bit contrived. Staff didn’t seem well-trained… overall not an experience I’d repeat.

london day 3 (5)all the Som Saa dishes we tried

london day 3 (6)just to show I wasn’t exaggerating about noise level – we measured it

Afterwards us diehards (John, Mark and me) headed to a wine bar in nearby Spitalfields Market as Thane & Bob headed home (they had an early morning next day). Can’t remember the name of the wine bar but Mark ordered for us and we enjoyed a couple of lovely wines – always a treat for me to try non-Spanish wines. Afterwards I got on one of my trusty 3 buses that seemed to take me almost everywhere and got home to find messages from the boys asking me to check in. Nice. Nice friends, great evening out.

restaurante amador

24 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, holidays, Malaga, malaga getaway, travel

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amador (2)

It was almost two years ago that my pal Antonio Carrasco, who I met while he was working at La Azotea in Sevilla, told me he was moving to Málaga to start a new job at Restaurante Amador, which belongs to the the splendid hotel Villa Guadalupe. And he said once he was settled in I HAD to come and see him at the restaurant. And I said – hey great! – because of course I am ALWAYS in Málaga so of course we’d be seeing each other again very soon. Ahem…

amador (1)So this visit I was determined to finally visit the restaurant and, as Victor had already been up to see the place, and had also met Antonio, we decided to make a date and go together. You see, part of the reason I hadn’t gone earlier is that Villa Guadalupe is located up on a mountain way the heck out of the centre of town, so you do need a car to get there. But let me tell you right now… it’s worth it.

I mean, obviously it’s a “special occasion” type of place, though the prices aren’t prohibitive. The food, the wines, the view… all make for a superb night out. Antonio had come up with a personalised tasting menu for us, including some smaller versions of dishes on the regular menu and one spectacular special of the day. I’ll be writing a proper review over on Azahar Tapas soon, but I think you get the idea from the photos.

amador (3)

Here are Victor and Antonio – bless Antonio’s heart that he got in a bottle of Botani just for me as it’s not on their wine list. He also recommended a couple of other wines to pair with certain dishes, which were simply perfect. It was a fabulous evening and the only “downer” was that I had had my heart set on getting down to the beach to see the bonfires of San Juan, but after the Antequera Adventure ealier that day, and this amazing meal at Amador, there was simply no energy left. Instead we watched the midnight fireworks from our privileged viewing spot overlooking the city and harbour and enjoyed a nightcap before heading home. Thank you Antonio! xx

el merendero

22 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, Malaga, malaga getaway

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merenderoRemember that lunch I mentioned with Victor and Andrew? We went to El Merendero, located right on Malagueta beach in the landmark Antonio Martín building. After having been abandoned for many years it was transformed into La Moraga by superchef Dani García in 2010, which was then bought by another group that continued to run it as La Moraga, but without the same spirit. Recently the space was taken over by Grupo Gorki, which has transported three of its restaurants from the city centre to the beach: El Tres, Bao and El Merendero. I’d been to El Merendero for tapas at the bar, but this was the first time trying out the restaurant.

Malaga June 2016

As you can see, it wasn’t half bad! What you see up there is Málaga sausage tartare, crispy fried lemon boquerones, artichokes topped with jamón and chopped egg, and – the star dish – tuna parpatana au jus with soufflé potatoes.

andrew victorAfter lunch we stopped for a penúltima on the rooftop of recently opened Roommate Valeria. A perfect afternoon with dear friends.